Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat – Game #57
Derrick White and the Spurs will try to stay hot against the Heat (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs (28-28) will try to get back above .500 and extend their winning streak to three games tonight versus the Miami Heat (30-28). The Spurs are coming off of dominating victories over the Phoenix Suns and the Indiana Pacers.
Both of those wins were on the road and this game, unfortunately, is at home. The Spurs have lost four straight home games and they are only 12-18 in the AT&T Center this season.
The Heat are also riding a two-game winning streak. Their victories both came at home. First they beat the Brooklyn Nets on a Bam Adebayo buzzer-beater. Then they toppled the lowly Houston Rockets.
Unlike the Spurs, the Heat are actually worse on the road than they are at home. In fact, they’ve lost three straight road games heading into tonight’s contest.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
The only player listed on the injury report for San Antonio is Trey Lyles. The big man continues to miss time with a sprained ankle. Will he return at some point this season? We don’t yet know.
With everyone else healthy, you can be confident that the starting lineup will once again be Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, DeMar DeRozan, Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl. Off the bench, head coach Gregg Popovich went with Patty Mills, Rudy Gay, Lonnie Walker IV and Drew Eubanks against the Pacers. Rookie Devin Vassell played great against the Suns but he wasn’t in the rotation in the last game.
Miami Heat Injury Update
The Heat will be without Victor Oladipo and Andre Iguodala against the Spurs. Both veterans have missed multiple games. However, Miami recently got some good news on the injury front. Previously, it was unknown whether their two best players, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, were going to be able to play. But now they are both listed as active for tonight’s contest.
Butler is averaging 21.4 points, 7.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds in 33.7 minutes per game, while Adebayo is posting averages of 19.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 33.4 minutes. Although those numbers are impressive, the Heat haven’t lived up to expectations this season after making the NBA Finals last year.
Spurs vs. Heat – How the Spurs Win
The key in San Antonio’s last two victories was defense. They held the Suns to 85 points and then held the Pacers to 94 points. As a result of those efforts, the Spurs now have the 12th best defense in the NBA.
If they can keep thriving on the defensive end of the court, perhaps the Spurs will finally be able to find a solution for their home woes.